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VERMILION, Ohio — A mother’s frantic plea for help for her disabled 18-month-old son — “He’s
stiff as a board” — sent an ambulance crew to a reclusive family’s home, where they found the
undersized boy dead and six other children, most of them malnourished, according to a 911 tape
released yesterday.

“He’s got medical issues,” the mother told a 911 operator on Nov. 6 when she and her husband
awoke and found the toddler’s lifeless body.

“My husband just went inside,” she said on the tape released by the Erie County sheriff’s
office. “He’s stiff as a board.”

No charges have been filed in the case, but the six children, most of whom have physical or
mental disabilities or both, were removed from the home and four were sent to the hospital.

Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland acknowledged that four were in the hospital
yesterday but released no information.

A 6-year-old weighs 23 pounds, about half the average 40- to 50-pound weight for the age. The
oldest child is 11.

In the call to 911, the mother begged for a quick response from an emergency medical crew.

“Yes, please, please,” she said, repeating the address of the home, which is on a country road
among small farms and suburban-style homes with deep front yards.

“We took a nap,” she said, “because we had a Halloween party last night with the kids.”

The parents apparently were awakened by an 11-year-old who had found the toddler
unresponsive.